Mary Schuler

​​Philippians 4:4-9 (NIV)

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

This story begins many years ago in the choir room at FUMC in McAllen, Texas. Surrounded by friends and some very patient adults, we belted out “Rejoice in the Lo-ord alllwaaays, again I say REJOICE!” over and over again. The exuberance of a bunch of elementary school-aged kids probably didn’t really make up for our lack of musical talent but we didn’t care! We were rehearsing to sing our hearts out in front of the whole church and we didn’t know enough at the time to be nervous. (That came when we actually faced the congregation!) I am sure that at some point, someone mentioned to us that these words were part of Paul’s letter to the Philippians but what we loved was the catchy tune and the lyrics that begged for singing loudly.

 

Fast forward several years and I found myself drawn to the King James translation of verse 8: “finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” These words held special relevance to my mother, my sister and me.  However, I still didn’t focus on the fact that this was part of Paul’s letter to the Philippians and just a few lines past the words of that song I sang as a child. As a young college student, I wanted to focus on a belief that I was pursuing truth, honesty, justice … by paying attention to these things, I could make the world a better place.

 

A few years later, my sister and I were struggling to find words to say as we celebrated the life of our mother. We remembered the words of Philippians 4:8 and our shared history with them. Together with our family, we recited the familiar words and felt at peace saying goodbye to our mother. A few weeks later as I was relating to my St. Luke’s small group the experience of turning to the familiar verse before scattering my mother’s ashes, a dear friend made a point of taking me aside for a deep hug. While the physical hug was huge for me (I was in a pretty weepy stage of life), her words will stick with me forever. “Do you know the verses that come right before that verse?” she asked. Together, we read Philippians 4 starting with verse 4. There, in print, were those wonderful words I had sung as a child and the words I clung to as a young adult. Sandwiched in between was Paul’s advice to not be anxious about anything. Light bulb moment for me – we are supposed to be joyful in spite of our circumstances because God is always with us. This passage has followed me through life, just as God has followed me through life coming to remind me at just the right times.

 

One might think that the story ends there, but, this passage, like a familiar friend, showed up once more recently.  We turned to it again when my father passed away earlier this year. Hearing it read lovingly and enthusiastically by his grandchildren and great grandchildren opened my eyes to new ways to wrap the words into my soul. Rejoice in the Lord always. In any circumstance, Rejoice. 

 

Prayer: Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice! Oh God, thank you for being there for me in all circumstances through the words I read and through the loving people who shine a light on them for me. Please help me to be that person for someone in need just as others have been for me. Amen.